Corporate and M&A – Page 2
-
Article10-year old Swiss Eyewear Group has passed the 20 million pairs’ mark
Swiss Eyewear Group, the eyewear company behind the INVU brand of polarized sunglasses, has announced that it has sold over 20 million pairs since the creation of the company ten years ago. As reported then in Eyewear Intelligence, the company was founded by a group of former senior managers of ...
-
ArticleFittingbox acquires main VTO challenger
Fittingbox, the global leader and a pioneer in eyewear virtual-try-on (VTO) services, has announced that it was acquiring its main challenger, Ditto Technologies, from U.S.-based Luna Solutions. It is the first acquisition by Fittingbox since the creation of the company in 2006. “We will have the largest customer portfolio in ...
-
ArticleLeica brings ophthalmic lenses business in-house, opens factory
Leica Eyecare, a subsidiary of Leica Camera founded in 2021, has announced the opening of its new company headquarters and production facilities in the central Hesse region, near Frankfurt, Germany. The investment follows the decision of the German group, globally famous for its premium cameras, to bring the production of ...
-
ArticleLafont celebrates French “savoir-faire”, Parisian chic and family legacy on 100th anniversary
It’s not necessarily an easy task to summarize a century of history and the essence of a company in just a few words, but when we asked Matthieu Lafont, CEO of Lafont, the answer was short and quick to come. “We are since 2023 an independent family business and eyewear ...
-
ArticleItalian OEM group acquires Henry Jullien
iVisionTech, the Italian-based OEM eyewear supplier, has announced that it was acquiring French eyewear company Henry Jullien, after a competitive sale process managed by a French Commercial Court. The process followed the entry into liquidation proceedings of the L’Amy Luxe group, of which Henry Jullien was part since 2017. ...
-
ArticleVeneVision adds injection to portfolio with new acquisition
Fast-growing Italian eyewear OEM group VeneVision is adding another production process to its know-how portfolio with the acquisition of CIDI, a Treviso-based company specializing in the production of injected-polymer frames. “With this acquisition,” commented Nicola Belli, CEO of VeneVision, “a fundamental piece of the Group’s strategy is realized: we are ...
-
ArticleModo acquires Italia Independent brand
MODO GROUP, the Italo-American eyewear company behind the MODO and ECO brands, has announced that it was acquiring the Italia Independent brand from the eponymous company. According to a release by Italia Indepedent, the transaction was agreed for a total of €1 million. As reported a few months ago, the ...
-
ArticleLenskart’s Neso Brands invests $4 m in French DTC eyewear brand
Neso Brands, the $100 m investment fund launched by Indian-based optical retail group Lenskart last year, has announced that it has acquired a significant stake in Le Petit Lunetier, a French direct-to-consumer (DTC) eyewear brand. It is the first investment in Europe for Neso Brands and Lenskart. As previously reported, ...
-
ArticleSafilo reaches deal with Thélios, Innovatek for Longarone plant and workers
Safilo Group said it has reached an agreement with Thélios, the eyewear business of the French luxury goods group LVMH, and Innovatek, an eyewear company owned by the businessman Carlo Fulchir, to guarantee the future of its Longarone facility and to relocate the 444 workers currently employed at the site ...
-
ArticleThélios opens portfolio to proprietary brands with Vuarnet acquisition
Thélios, the eyewear company of French luxury group LVMH, has announced its acquisition of Vuarnet from NEO Investment Partners, the U.K.-based investment fund that owned the brand since 2013. This marks the first brand acquisition by Thélios whose portfolio included exclusively fashion brands from its parent company until now. Thélios ...
-
ArticleFielmann upgrades outlook following confirmation of SVS deal
Fielmann Group has confirmed the closing of its acquisition of U.S. retailer SVS Vision, which will be integrated in the German-based retailer’s accounts from Sept. 1 and will therefore contribute four months of turnover to the group’s 2023 revenue. As previously reported, SVS Vision is based in Michigan and operates ...
-
ArticlePortfolio synergies and sunglasses on DEG roadmap
Last year’s summer was particularly busy on the corporate front for Design Eyewear Group (DEG) as, in just a few months, the company came under new ownership and acquired the business of William Morris London, the U.K.-based eyewear company. Almost one year later, we sat down with Lars Flyvholm, CEO, ...
-
ArticleItalian OEM group lists on the Milan stock exchange
Italian OEM eyewear manufacturer iVision Tech went public at the end of last week, listing its shares on the Euronext Growth Milan stock exchange. The company floated a total of 1,738,500 newly issued shares at an offering price of €1.15 per share for a total consideration of approximately €2 million. ...
-
ArticleItalian OEM cluster group surfing on luxury eyewear momentum
Venevision, a group of Italian eyewear manufacturing companies in the Dolomites region, has announced that its revenue for the first half of this year reached €39.6 million, increasing by 58 percent year-on-year thanks to a series of acquisitions in the second half of 2022. On a comparable scope, sales were ...
-
ArticleNational Vision reels as Walmart prepares to end partnership
National Vision shares took a hit in trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange July 27, tumbling 22 percent on the day after the surprise announcement that U.S. retailing giant Walmart has decided to end its long-standing partnership with the optical retailer next year. Walmart’s decision not to renew the partnership ...
-
ArticleTooz smart eyewear keeps focus on optical engines and scalability
After many years of teasing, spectacular announcements and some renouncements by industry players, smart glasses are now on the verge of fulfilling their initial promises and entering the mass consumer market. All of a sudden, it seems like an entire industry is in the starting blocks as years of research ...
-
ArticleMicro-display company gets a €21m boost
Private-equity firm Jolt Capital is leading a €21 million round of funding for MicroOLED, which designs and manufactures low-voltage micro-displays. Joining Jolt in the operation are the French sovereign wealth fund Bpifrance (through an entity called Innovation Defense) and two past investors in MicroOLED, Cipio Partners and Ventech. The micro-displays ...
-
ArticleSafilo close to a complete solution for its Longarone plant
The Safilo Group seems to be coming closer to a satisfactory solution for its industrial site in Longarone, Italy, which the company said it would need to divest at the start of the year due to a “persistent production overcapacity.” Just a few days after confirming talks with Thélios, LVMH ...
-
ArticleVuzix OEM consumer smart eyewear business enters countdown phase
Vuzix’ management was not short of images, martial or witty, to describe the state of its business to its shareholders during the annual meeting held at the group’s headquarters last week: shipping boats, battleships, a dog and even a frog helped to convey the company’s expectations for its imminent takeoff, ...
-
ArticleKRYS GROUP to raise lens production capacity by 30%
KRYS GROUP has announced the completion of the building of its new plant at its CODIR industrial and logistic center in Bazainville, near Paris. The new 4,800 square meter structure, which is slated to become operational early next year at the latest, will enable the French optical retailer to accelerate ...
